Leaning in labour

Take a look at this picture. See how the mother leans...

Gravity is always a great advantage in labour. The baby can more easily move down and contractions are more powerful when your body and baby are working together - in the same direction and without resistance.

Upright and forward-leaning positions also make more room in the pelvis and help you to cope. Movement discharges tension from the muscles.

The pregnant pelvis' natural pliancy culminates with ligaments that are super-soft, full of give to allow your baby to pass through. So make the most of it. Put this advantage to good use and avoid AT ALL COSTS, the lock-down that is lying back on a bed. Move, be free, feel what your body and baby WANT you to do. They are instructions and need heeding.

I long ago heard about a traditional way of women coping with contractions was to lean on a stick, the better to circle and sway. If you think about it, a sold stick is a superb piece of PIVOTED support.

Having a wooden stick to lean on is of course an obvious way to stabilise the body but in birth, when the desire to give your weight to something is intense, it is fantastic....something solid but giving to rock upon. You can swing side to side, or place one foot in front of the other, and rock back and forth, ball to toe, toe to ball.